Senate comes from Old French 'senat', from Latin 'senatus' ('council of elders'), from 'senex' ('old man'), from Proto-Indo-European *sen- ('old'). The form is best read as a historical transfer or inheritance, with its older language material carrying the main semantic load. As a noun, it denotes "a legislative or governing assembly, especially an upper house", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Latin senatus, Latin senex, and Proto-Indo-European *sen-. Derivative forms include senator, senatorial; related words include senator, senile, senior, seignior.